Betterment

Humans are social animals.  Anthropologists argue that humans have been so successful as a species because we’re great at coordinating and cooperating.  This high degree of sociability allowed hunter-gatherer tribes to kill giant mastodons and modern societies to land people on the moon.  When human groups function in a healthy and coherent way, we can […]

When you were a kid, teachers and parents probably told you to concentrate. And as an adult, you likely often think about how much more productive, present, and happy you’d be if only you had better focus. But despite how much we think about our desire to improve our focus, no one ever gets any […]

“If only” is a soothing refrain. If only the constraints were lifted, and the things that are scarce were abundant. If only the barriers were lifted and there was more time or fewer obs…

Avoiding problems is faster than solving them

I get to lead a monthly session with Calm’s staff engineers. Some months that is mostly a Q&A, but I find the best sessions have at least some component of directed learning. For example, we’ve done one session on presenting to executives, which is an area that can accelerate or disintegrate your impact. To be totally honest, we’ve done sessions on most of the operating at staff topics from Staff Engineer, and I’ve been trying to find new themes and exercises.

If you do anything at the last minute that takes more than a minute, you’re not organizing your project properly. The last minute is not a buffer zone, nor is it the moment to double-check yo…

If you leave your cheese out and the mouse eats it, the mouse is simply being a mouse. While it might be nice if the mouse didn’t wreck your dinner, that’s his job. Often, we show up wi…

When you have a kid, there inevitably comes a time when she not only wants you to push her on the playground swing, but to swing beside her. And as you pump your legs towards the sky for the first time in a couple of decades, you think to yourself, “Hey, this is fun.” Swinging […]

This email is inspired by Episode #141 of The Knowledge Project podcast, featuring serial entrepreneur and incisive business thinker Kunal Shah.

A Zettelkasten is a personal tool for thinking and writing that creates an interconnected web of thought. Its emphasis is on connection and not mere collection of ideas.

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We all know competent leadership means more than tasking 'to do's'. Tasking, of course, isn't leading, and it may not even be managing, but for our

Wisdom and good advice are everywhere, now more than ever. And yet, despite the abundance that’s available, people often make errors in job searches, product launches, or even planning a part…

A Zettelkasten is a personal tool for thinking and writing that creates an interconnected web of thought. Its emphasis is on connection and not mere collection of ideas.

A Zettelkasten is a personal tool for thinking and writing that creates an interconnected web of thought. Its emphasis is on connection and not mere collection of ideas.

In the United States, over sixty percent of people live a sedentary lifestyle. A quarter of the population gets no physical activity at all.  Maybe you’re one of these sedentary folks. Physical activity is just not something you do. It’s not part of your life.  Why is this? Why are so many adults physically inactive? […]

It’s a simple question that can open doors. But it also creates tension. The person you’re seeking to connect with might not want to believe that help is possible. There’s a solac…

There are two marketing problems when it comes to creating interventions for the public good. The first marketing problem is that when it works we take the intervention for granted. The world doesn…

How do you find work you love to do, that actually pays well?

Is mastery just a matter of 10,000 hours of practice? Debunking a common myth about improvement.

Eliminate the guess work and dress with confidence with classics from Huckberry. Read more.

No kid forgets getting his first bike, nor the surge of independence he felt the first time he pedaled away from his parents. And even as adults, the bike seems to give off a feeling of romance, of freedom, and, when you get going fast enough, even of flying. The special allure of the bicycle […]

We’ve long been advocates for the idea of intentionality. In a universe where everything defaults to the path of least resistance, good stuff doesn’t just happen. You have to make it happen. This is a truism we’ve applied to everything from creating a positive family culture to getting the most out of your leisure time. […]

In The Safety Trap by security expert Spencer Coursen, he mentions that a surprising number of burglaries occur because the homeowner left a door or window unlocked. He describes one case where a wealthy client of his kept the key fobs for his luxury vehicles near the front door. The rich client failed to lock […]

It’s a shame, because it would help us do a much better job of bringing ideas to people: “I don’t care enough to do what you’re asking.” “I don’t trust you…

It’s typical to include machines, rent, stationery, all that stuff. But the real startup costs are the missteps, errors and learnings that every new project goes through on the way to success…

The Soviets weren’t the best managers, to put it mildly. They were famously god awful at it. Here’s an example of a Soviet-era error: A factory is ordered